Promise of Reunion
by Time Forgotten One
Summary: Six years ago, Garry said he and Ib would meet again. But they never did. And now 15, Ib is slowly beginning to lose hope in his "promise of reunion". *Rated M for future, explicit lemons and occasional abuse*
1. Prologue

"_I…I was…wounded…..on the hand…and….a girl…..a girl gave me her handkerchief…." Garry glanced down at the bloody handkerchief wrapped around his hand, and then at the little girl in front of him. Why did she look so familiar…? He's seen her before…what was her name? Something with an 'I'. _

_Then it all came back. How he was trapped in the Fabricated World, and a little girl had saved him, and they got out together. Garry's eyes widened as realization dawned on him. Tears welled in his eyes as he captured the girl in a hug. "I-Ib..! Ib, oh, Ib! I remember it all, the Gallery, the monsters, Mary, everything…" He cupped her face in his hands and looked into her red eyes. "Ib…d-do you remember me? C-come on, try to remember….please…" _

_Ib stared at the older man in confusion for a minute. What on Earth was he talking about? Although she had to admit…what he was saying __**did**__ sound rather familiar…_

"_Fabricated World…monsters…Mary…" Ib muttered to herself, desperately trying to get any memories to surface. "…Garry…Garry!?" Her arms wrapped around him tightly as she sobbed in his shoulder. "Garry…I..I remember it now! I'm so glad you're okay!" Garry sighed in relief and he stroked Ib's hair gently. _

"_Me too, Ib…me too…" The two of them stood there, in the middle of the art gallery, sobbing and hugging each other tightly, never wanting to let go. _

_Eventually they calmed themselves down, and wiped away their tears. Garry smiled and kissed Ib's forehead as a friendly gesture. _

"_There's so much more I want to talk about, Ib, but…I have to get going now." Ib frowned a bit and nodded. She just got Garry back…and she was afraid to lose him again. He hugged her once more and said shyly, "S-say, Ib…would it be alright if I…held onto this handkerchief a bit longer? It wouldn't do to return it as it is…I'll have to clean it, a-and –" _

"_Sure!" Ib said, a wide smile on her face. "Because…we will see each other again!" Garry chuckled a bit and nodded. _

"_Yes…we'll see each other again soon, Ib." _

**(( A/N: Hey, guys! I'm SO sorry for the long wait on this story, but life has been so freaking hectic lately it's not even funny. X,D I'm working on Chapter One itself, and I will have it uploaded as soon as I can~ ; 3 ; )) **


	2. Chapter 1

**(( A/N: Finally! I'm really really really really sorry for taking so long to upload this ;A;; School has been so freaking **_**annoying **_**lately, so I really haven't had much time to work on this story ;A;; But anyway. It's here now, and I hope you all enjoy it! :D Please R&R, and constructive criticism is always welcome! ^^ ))**

* * *

It was almost unbelievable, to be honest. More than six years have already come and gone since she saved his life. Six years since they escaped that hell of a Gallery together.

Six years since he vowed they'd meet again.

Fifteen-year-old Ib sighed and plopped on her bed, gazing out the window of her medium-sized attic bedroom. It was Sunday, and the weather today was gloomy, fog enveloping the New York skyline in the distance like a melancholy blanket. Garry consumed her thoughts, as always. She thought about him constantly, desperately hoping that one day soon she'd see him again.

Ib bit her lip and lay down, closing her eyes in an attempt to take a nap. But when she did, all she saw were the memories of the Fabricated World, memories that haunted her every day. Ib's red eyes popped open, and she sat up.

"_So much for sleeping,_" she thought.

The teenage girl sighed again, and reached over to the small nightstand next to her bed. She opened one of the two drawers and pulled out a journal. And from that journal, she pulled out a small, crumpled bright yellow candy wrapper.

The same one Garry had given her so long ago.

Tears welled in Ib's eyes as she remembered his vow to see her again. He even promised to take her out for macarons at a local café that he liked. But it never happened. Since that day six years ago, Ib has never seen that dark blue, ragged jacket, or lavender hair with black streaks.

Oh, but she wanted to. Badly. She ached to see Garry once more, if only for a single moment.

Why, you ask?

Because she loved him.

It was true. Ib had loved Garry with all her heart and soul for six years. Despite being only nine when they first met, she had felt something towards him. At first she thought she loved him only as a brother. After all, he _wa__s_ much older than her. But over the years, he maneuvered his way into her thoughts more frequently.

And that's when she knew she had fallen for him. Hard.

Alas, but she had no way of telling Garry she was madly in love with him; and that crushed her heart.

Eventually the tears Ib had been holding in for so long spilled from her eyes. They streaked down her cheeks like a waterfall.

"Garry…oh, Garry," she sobbed quietly. "Why, why haven't you kept your promise?" Ib buried her face in her pillow and lay there, crying her heart out for quite a while.

That is, until her father slammed the front door downstairs.

"Ib...! Ib! Where are you, you b*tch..?!" Ib's father, Maxwell, yelled.

_"Uh-oh. He's drunk again…"_ Ib thought worriedly. She quickly rushed to the bathroom to fix her hair and wash her face.

"C-Coming, Father!" she stuttered, trying to keep her voice steady as she scurried down the stairs to meet her father.

Or rather, the _monster_ that was her father.

You see, Ib's mother, Ariannona, had passed away from pneumonia 2 years ago. And ever since then, Maxwell has had a problem with alcohol, it being his way of coping with the loss of his wife.

Although because he always came home drunk, he beat Ib often. Too often. Leaving poor Ib with bruises and cuts all over her body nearly every day.

And today was no different.

Maxwell stumbled over to Ib, his brown eyes puffy and red and his brown hair disheveled.

He looked Ib up and down, as if sizing her up. Then out of nowhere, he raised his hand and slapped her cheek. Hard. So hard that Ib lost her footing and fell to the wooden floor, clutching her now red cheek.

The drunken man took this opportunity to cause more harm to Ib, and he kicked her in the stomach. Ib yelped in pain and curled up in a ball, holding her belly.

"F-Father…please…stop.." Ib pleaded, tears brimming at her eyes. "It hurts…"

"Pathetic. You worthless s**t! I'll teach you what _hurts_!" Maxwell sluggishly grabbed an umbrella from nearby and began to mercilessly beat Ib, and all she could do was cry out in pain each time he struck her.

"A-aah! F-Father! Stop it, please!" she sobbed, trying to shield herself from the powerful blows.

Although he didn't stop until she dropped unconscious.

* * *

Ib later woke up in the same spot she was in before, bruised and bloody from the beating. She slowly sat up to look around, and everything was blurry until her eyes focused on her father, who had passed out on the couch because he was so drunk.

When Ib tried to get up, however, she fell back down with a small 'thud', and whimpered in pain. It hurt. It all hurt. After a while, Ib eventually managed to get herself upstairs to the bathroom to wipe off the blood and put on bandages wherever necessary. She then retreated to her room to cry once again.

"Dear Mother in Heaven, please tell me…what did I do wrong? What did I do to deserve this?" she cried and cried for hours, until she could cry no more and fell asleep.

* * *

It wasn't until the next morning when Ib woke up. She groaned as she sat up on her bed and held her head as she groggily looked around the room.

"What time is it…?" she yawned. Ib scratched her arm a bit as she glanced at the alarm clock. It read 9:30.

Whoops.

"Crap! I'm late for school!" Now wide awake, Ib dashed to the bathroom to quickly wash her face and brush her long, brown hair. She then scurried back to her room to put on her school uniform. It was just a normal collared shirt with the school's logo embroidered on it, and simple, black dress pants.

After checking that she had all her books in her backpack, Ib ran out the front door as fast as she could to Helvectica High.

As Ib walked swiftly down the halls of the high school to her 2nd – 3rd period math class, she noticed that quite a few students gave her odd looks.

But it was no wonder; in her rush to get to school, she had forgotten to wear her usual long-sleeved turtleneck with the school's logo to conceal the bruises her father gives her daily. The students staring at weren't stupid and put two and two together. And so now the whole school knew about the fact that her father abused her.

Just great.

* * *

Ms. Kawakami tapped her foot impatiently as Ib shyly made her way to her seat when she walked into the classroom. Again, everyone stared at the bruises on Ib's neck and she groaned inwardly. Did they _have_ to stare?

"You're late, Miss Kimura." Ms. Kawakami said in a monotonous tone. "Any explanations?"

Ib shrunk in her seat as she shook her head. "N-no, Ma'am." The teacher sighed, and went to her desk to write something down. Then she walked over to Ib and handed the girl a pink slip of paper.

"For your tardiness, you have detention in Mr. Aomori's class for one hour after school. This'd better not happen again, understood?"

"Y-yes, Ma'am…" Ib murmured, looking down and hiding her face with her hair.

"Good." The teacher cleared her throat and she turned to class. "Everyone, I'd like you to please open your books to page 46, and complete problems 1-35 by the bell. If it's not finished in class, it must be done for homework."

Faint groans of annoyance echoed across the room as the assignment was given. All the students reluctantly did as they were told, except Ib. She made no move to open her books to begin the assignment. Instead, she just sat in her chair, staring off into space.

_"Could this day get any worse?"_ she mentally complained.

And unfortunately, the answer to that question was yes.


	3. Chapter 2

**(( A/N: Here's chapter two, everyone! :D I'm really sorry for the wait, but I had Quarterly Exams all this week, and I didn't have much time to work on it. Nevertheless, I hope you all enjoy it, and please review! I really want to know what you guys think of the story so far XD  
Oh, and by the way, I found these **_**beautiful**_** songs on YouTube, you guys should really listen to them! Here are the links: **** watch?v=7uLmP-o0i5E and watch?v=PYLGzYCbat4**** ))**

Ib sat at her desk in History class, not paying attention to a single word the teacher was saying. _Yadda yadda, this happened, yadda yadda, that happened,_ she thought in annoyance. What was the whole point of learning History, anyway? It was the past, it wasn't important. She sighed inwardly and glanced at the clock above the blackboard. _Only 5 minutes left, only 5 minutes left,_ Ib repeated in her head over and over again.

"Miss Kimura, are you paying attention?" The teacher, a middle-aged man named Mr. Swanson, said. Ib's cheeks flushed a light shade of red as she snapped out of her trance. A few of her classmates had their eyes on her, making her feel all the more embarrassed.

"N-no, sir," she replied meekly. "I-I'm sorry." Mr. Swanson sighed and walked over to her desk, handing her an all too familiar pink slip of paper. Not another detention, the girl groaned inwardly.

"You have one additional hour of detention after school today in Mr. Aomori's class," the teacher stated nonchalantly. "And I suggest you begin paying attention, because I doubt you'd want to stay three hours after school _and _fail the test on Friday." Ib nodded and quickly began copying down the notes on the blackboard that she hadn't bothered to write down before. Just as she was finishing up the last set of notes, the bell rang, signifying the end of the stupid History class, and the beginning of the lunch period.

"Alright, everyone, don't forget about the test on Friday, and your report on the Japanese-American Internment is due next Tuesday! Class dismissed." As soon as those words left Mr. Swanson's lips, the entire class made a beeline for the door, including Ib. The teacher shook his head and retreated to his desk to grade some papers.

_Finally, freedom!_ Ib thought happily. Lunch was her favorite time of the school day. She normally was by herself during this time, but she didn't mind, really. It gave her time to think, time to calm down. However, on occasion, Ib would spend time with a girl named Lily. She had blonde hair, blue eyes, and a few freckles here and there. Lily was probably the most quiet girl in Ib's class, and that was one of the reasons why Ib liked hanging out with her.

As she walked down the hall, Ib saw Lily out of the corner of her eye, making her way to the cafeteria alone. Ib quickly retrieved her lunch from her locker and walked towards Lily.

"Lily!" Ib called, smiling a bit. The blonde girl turned around noticed her friend.

"Oh, hey, Ib," Lily replied. She noticed the bruises on the other girl's neck and cocked her head curiously. "What happened to your neck, Ib? There are bruises all over."

_Crap…_ Ib thought. Could she tell Lily the truth?

Pfft, what was she thinking? No matter how quiet Lily may seem, Ib knew deep down that she couldn't trust her. Thinking quickly, Ib came up with a vague reply.

"Oh..I…uh…it's nothing, Lily," Ib said, forcing a smile on her face. Lily was able to see through the obvious fake smile, so she didn't press the matter any further.

"Okay, if you say so, Ib," the blonde girl said. Inwardly, Ib sighed in relief, thankful that Lily hadn't asked any more questions. In fact, the two girls ate their lunch in silence for the rest of the period, and when the bell rang, they parted ways and went to class.

* * *

The last bell had just rung a few minutes ago. Everyone had made a beeline for the door, anxious to get home. But Ib, was going to be stuck in Mr. Aomori's classroom for 2 hours after school, all because she was late for two classes.

_Two stupid classes. _

_Oh, well. Gives me time to do homework, and think,_ Ib thought to herself. She walked into the nearly empty classroom and towards Mr. Aomori's desk, handing him the two pink slips.

"Hmph. Take one of the desks in the back. No talking," he said in a monotonous tone. Ib nodded meekly and sat at one desk on the right side of the classroom, taking out an assignment and beginning to work on it.

That is, until Mr. Aomori spoke up.

"Ahem! Miss…Ib, is it?" Ib's head shot up and she looked at the teacher, her eyes wide.

"Y-yes, sir?"

"Put whatever you're working on away. The purpose of detention is not to work on things of little importance, but to think about what you've done during the course of the day that landed you here," he stated matter-of-factly.

Ib groaned inwardly as she reluctantly put away her things.

Boy, it was going to be a _long_ two hours.

* * *

Finally, after _much_ anticipation, the dreaded detention was over. When Mr. Aomori had dismissed her from his class, Ib politely said goodbye to the teacher, then pretty much made a beeline towards the door. Oh, how good it felt to be free!

Ib was now making her way home alone, just as she always does. Her father most likely wouldn't be home until 2 in the morning, so when she passed by the local park, she sat under the big willow tree and gazed up at the beautiful autumn sunset before her.

The sun was a large, splendid orange ball of fire in the distance, partially cloaked by a few hanging clouds, which were all splashed with gorgeous shades of pinks, reds, yellows, and even hints purples and blues here and there. Ib sighed and leaned her head back against the trunk of the tree, becoming lost in her thoughts. A familiar face debuted in her mind – lavender hair with the black "seaweed" on top, pale grey eyes, and a warm, loving smile.

Garry.

She sighed and closed her eyes, refusing to let any tears fall. He was like a heavenly nightmare for her. She loved thinking about him; he was probably – no, _definitely_ the only thing that kept her from just ending her pointless life. But she hated thinking about him because it was a constant reminder of how much she loved him, and how he didn't know. She sighed shakily, and unbeknownst to her, the tears she had been holding in were cascading down her cheeks. She buried her face in her hands and whimpered.

"Garry…" she sobbed.

After a while of crying – the poor girl had been doing a lot of that lately – Ib got up and brushed herself off, once again making her way home.

* * *

By the time she got home, it was rather dark out, and thankfully, Maxwell wasn't home. Ib went straight up to her room, changed into some pajamas, and climbed into bed. She didn't even bother to do her homework. _I could do it during homeroom tomorrow or something,_ she thought, sighing inwardly. All Ib wanted to do was just sleep, and not wake up.

"Dear Mother in Heaven," she whispered softly as she pulled the covers over herself. "Please…let me be able to see Garry once more…even if it's for just a minute…"

That was the last conscious thought she had, before she fell into a dreamless sleep.


	4. Chapter 3

**(( A/N: I'm alive, don't worry! I've said this countless times, but I truly am sorry for not updating as often as you all would like me too. ;A; Heck, even **_**I**_** don't update as often as I want to! But I've had so much going on, both at school and at home, so I've been backlogged. Nevertheless, Chapter Three is here now, and I'm already working on Chapter Four as well! ^^' **

**Now, enjoy the chapter! :D ))**

* * *

Ib had slept a total of only a few hours when her eyes popped open for what seemed like the umpteenth time, and she sat upright in bed, rubbing her eyes a bit. But even during those few hours, sleep had evaded Ib so cleverly, that try as she might, she could not fall asleep, and _stay_ asleep. She turned to the alarm clock on her nightstand and gazed at the big numbers, showing her the time. 2:30 A.M., it read. The teenaged girl let out a groan of annoyance and decided that staying in bed was pointless.

"Great..." she muttered to herself. "Just great." Ib got out of her bed, and went over to her desk, turning on the lamp. She sat down and pulled out her diary, the one she used to use when she was younger. A wave of nostalgia came to her at the silly memories. She flipped through the pages of the journal, reading old entries about school, or something she was doing over the weekend. The farther she skimmed through the book, though, Ib was finding more and more pictures of the one person she did and did _not_ want to see.

Garry.

This part of the book was filled with drawings of him, and in those drawings she was always with him, smiling and laughing, obviously enjoying her time with him. There was even one where Garry was proposing to her; she smiled sadly, remembering the day when Garry had found that picture, and how his cheeks had turn a dark shade of crimson red. She smiled to herself, and flipped through the rest of the book, the memories soon becoming too much for her as she broke down and began to cry her heart out.

_'Garry…I love you so much…but why can't I tell you that…?' _Ib thought sadly. It was all so unfair, so dreadfully unfair. Why? Why couldn't she see him?

The teenage girl fell back on her bed, sobbing into the pillow for quite a while, until she – finally – fell asleep.

Ib woke up the next morning and did as she usually did during the week – make her bed, wash her face, brush her teeth, do her hair, and dress in long sleeve shirts and long pants, even though it was fairly warm out today.

Once dressed, Ib crept downstairs to the kitchen, being careful to step over her father's drunken passed out body on the way. Ib had only a slice of toast and a glass of orange juice for breakfast, but that was more than enough for her. She wasn't hungry, anyway.

Ib didn't bother to make herself a lunch, but decided to take a bottle of water and an energy bar, just to tide herself off. She glanced at her watch and saw that she should leave, and gathered her backpack and walked out the door, on her way to school.

* * *

The morning classes went by fairly quickly, to be honest. Before she knew it, Ib was on her way to the cafeteria along with the rest of the students, talking quietly with Lily about a book she was reading.

"It's pretty interesting," she said, as she and her friend walked. "And there's a movie version of it, too. But I think the book is a lot better."

"That's cool, Ib!" Lily chirped, clapping her hands. Lily was usually fairly quiet, and didn't make too much noise. But today…she was unusually energetic and chipper, but Ib made no comment about it. "What did you say the book was called?"

"The Calling," she replied quietly. "I have it with me, it's in my locker. I'll get it." Lily nodded and followed Ib to the lockers, who retrieved the fairly thick book from her backpack. "I've almost finished it."

Lily eagerly flipped through the pages, reading random spots here and there. "Ooh, it seems so interesting! I'll get it this weekend!" Ib nodded as Lily handed the book back to her, who smiled. The blonde girl noticed a group of giggling girls nearby and waved to them.

"Hey, Ib, I've gotta go," Lily said. "We'll talk later, 'kay?" And with that, she skipped over to the group of girls, who gave Ib dirty looks. Ib shrugged it off and sat at a table by herself, nibbling on her energy bar as she read her book. Everyone else was in large groups, mingling with one other about pointless topics.

About ten minutes pass, and Lily and the group of girls from earlier come over to Ib's table, wide, and obviously fake smiles on their faces. There were five in total, Lily included. But from the way they were dressed, and how heavy their make up was, they didn't seem _anything_ like the girls you'd expect Lily to hang out with. But then again, she's always been a bit mysterious…

"Oh, is this the girl you were talking about, Lily?" one of the girls said.

"She looks really scrawny, if you ask me," another remarked.

"Pleasure to meet you too," Ib said sarcastically, rolling her eyes and going back to her book. "If you're here to only mock me, then I have no time for you."

The two girls that had spoken looked at Ib in shock and dismay, while the others, including Lily, had blank expressions on their faces.

"Come on, they're only trying to be nice to you," Lily said, sitting next to her friend and patting her back. But with Ib's attention on her book, Lily nodded at the other girls, as if giving them a signal, and they all sat around Ib.

"So, what's your name?" one of the girls chimed, trying to start conversation. Discreetly, another girl reached for Ib's water bottle, and pulled out a small bag containing a clear liquid.

"Ib," Ib replied, folding her arms and facing the girl. "And yours?"

"Claire," the girl replied, smiling. "Nice to meet ya, Ib!"

While Ib was engaged in a conversation with Claire and Lily, the other girls quietly tried to pour that liquid into the water, before Ib noticed. Lily told them to do it, and because of their cruel nature, the girls agreed to do so.

It was done. The girls quickly replaced Ib's bottle where it was, so she wouldn't suspect anything. And then, as if on cue, the bell rang, signaling that lunch was over. Ib took a big gulp of the now contaminated water, before closing the bottle and nodding.

"I'd like to stay and chat, but I've gotta go," Ib said, smiling tightly. "I'll see you girls later." Ib got up and began to walk away, leaving Lily and the girls to talk alone.

"You guys did it?" Lily asked in a hushed voice. The girls nodded and smirked.

"Yup. She'll be out cold before she gets home."

"Good, good," Lily said, grinning. "Thanks for your help, guys. We'll meet up after school? At the mall?"

"Ooh, sure!" Claire nodded, looking at the other girls.

The girls continued to talk amongst themselves, while Ib made her way back to class. She was feeling a bit dizzy, but shrugged it off. '_It's probably because I didn't eat lunch,'_ she thought to herself as she stopped by her locker to pick up some books.

Ib eventually arrived at Ms. Kawakami's math class, and took her place at her seat, opening to her textbook and notebook.

"Alright, class," Ms. Kawakami said, clapping her hands. Instantly, all chatter in the classroom stopped, and everyone faced the teacher. "Open your textbooks to the section labeled _Polynomials_, and we'll do just a small review before next week's test."

Ib sighed inwardly, just as the rest of the class did, and flipped her textbook open to the designated page. But she paid no attention to Ms. Kawakami as she droned on and on and on about polynomials. _'Who cares?! This crap isn't going to help me in life,'_ the teenaged girl thought.

About halfway through the period, though, Ib began to feel nauseous again, this time worse than before. She laid her head down and closed her eyes, taking slow, deep breaths. Ms. Kawakami continued on with her explanation, but stopped abruptly when she noticed her student with her head on the desk. She walked over to Ib and gently shook her shoulder, thinking that she was asleep.

"Miss Kimura," Ms. Kawakami said. "Are you alright?" Ib groaned softly and tiredly lifted her head up, facing her teacher.

"O-oh..sorry, Ms. Kawakami," she replied meekly. "I just…feel a bit nauseous, that's all." In the corner of the room, Lily and the girls from lunchtime were all giving each other smug looks, obviously satisfied about something. The rest of the class, however, didn't really care, and simply went to their textbooks, reading the explanations given.

"Would you like to go to the nurse?" the teacher asked. Ib shook her head and smiled a bit.

"No, thank you, Ms. Kawakami," she replied. "I'm fine." The teacher nodded and smiled warmly at Ib, going back to the front of the class and finishing her explanation.

The period eventually ended, and as the class gathered their books to go to the next class, Ms. Kawakami called out, "Remember about your test next week!"

Ib, who still feeling nauseous, weakly gathered her books and quickly checked her schedule to see what subject she had next. _'Homeroom, good,'_ she thought in relief.

As Ib made her way to the lockers, she saw Lily and her 'clique' hanging out by the lockers, giggling about trivial things. She stopped to put some books away, and couldn't help but listen in on their conversation. Apparently they were talking about some music group.

Neither of them made any acknowledgement of Ib's presence, and they simply continued on with their mindless chatter. Ib sighed and went back to homeroom, plopping down in her seat. What was wrong with her..? All of a sudden she had become so weak..

Ib went over to the teacher's desk, and shyly asked if she could see the nurse. When asked what was wrong, she replied, "I don't know, but I just feel really nauseous." The teacher wrote her a pass to the nurse's office, and said for her to feel better. Ib thanked the teacher, and walked out of the classroom, slowly making her way to the nurse's office.

It took a while to get there, but she eventually made it. Ib quietly knocked on the door, and she was answered with a "Come in!" from the other side.

"Ahh, hello, Ib," the nurse said, smiling warmly. Her name was Mrs. Takako Hamasaki, and she was known throughout the high school for being very kind and motherly-like with the students. "What seems to be bothering you, child?"

"Well…I just feel really nauseous," Ib replied, handing Mrs. Hamasaki the pass.

"I see. Why don't you just lie down for a while, and if you don't feel better, I can send you home, if you'd like." Ib nodded and went over to the small couch on the side, lying down.

Five, ten, fifteen, then twenty minutes pass, and Ib felt no different than she did when she arrived at the nurse's office.

"How do you feel, Ib?" Mrs. Hamasaki asked, walking over to the teenage girl.

"Not too good," Ib replied quietly, barely able to speak because she was so weak. The older woman frowned a bit and knelt down, so she was looking into Ib's red eyes.

"I'm going to call your parents and write you a pass to leave early," Mrs. Hamasaki said, "but I also want your parents to take you to a doctor. Understood?" The nurse went over to the phone on her desk, and was about to dial the number, when Ib stopped her.

"I don't have any parents," Ib said quietly, looking away. Mrs. Hamasaki gasped and covered her mouth.

"Oh...I'm...I'm sorry, Ib," the older woman said, bowing in apology. "I'll just...write you the pass, then." She nodded and reached for the early dismissal passes and a pen, scribbling the required information. After handing the pass to Ib, Mrs. Hamasaki helped Ib get up, and gently pat her head.

"Feel better, Ib," Mrs. Hamasaki said, smiling warmly.

"Thank you, Ma'am," she replied, bowing slightly and exiting the room, going to the lockers to retrieve her backpack and other belongings. Ib could now barely stand, her strength slowly draining. Before leaving, Ib dropped the pass by her homeroom teacher, who frowned and once again wished her to feel better. Ib bowed in thanks and left the room, dragging herself down the stairs to the school entrance, where she exited the building.

It was afternoon, about 3pm, so Ib knew her father was out drinking, as always. As she walked, she began panting and sweating, despite the fact she was barely exerting any force. When she was about halfway home, Ib's legs gave way and she collapsed on the pavement, drenching the concrete in her sweat. She was slowly fading away, out of consciousness, and try as she might, she couldn't fight it. Ib eventually succumbed to the black hole of unconsciousness, her breathing slowing, to the point where it would almost stop.

A young, good-looking man wearing a tattered blue coat, a green shirt, and khaki pants just so happened to walking on the block across from Ib, and when he noticed her collapse, he quickly ran over to her and shook her gently, in an attempt to wake her up. It didn't work, and the man whipped out his cellphone, dialing 911.

"911, what's your emergency?" the operator said.

"I need an ambulance…th-there was this young girl…walking, and she just suddenly collapsed. Sh-she's barely breathing and is sweating a lot too."

"Okay, sir, and where are you?"

"Corner of 49th Street, Hirono Avenue," the man replied.

"Alright, then. The ambulance will be there shortly. I want you to stay calm, alright? She'll be fine." The man shakily replied with, "I hope so," and with that, the operator hung up.

Ib groaned softly and weakly opened her eyes, trying to get up. The man held her down and cradled her in his arms.

"Don't get up, you're really weak. An ambulance will be here in a while," he said gently, rocking Ib gently. She groaned again and tried to focus her vision on whoever had saved her, and what she saw was that familiar tattered blue coat, that tuft of lavender hair, those beautiful eyes…

She saw her Garry.

"G-Ga…Garry…" Ib whispered hoarsely, her hand weakly reaching up to caress the man's face. She thought she was simply hallucinating, but what she didn't know was that she _wasn't_ dreaming, and that the Garry she had loved for all this time was here.

Garry, on the other hand, was surprised. How did this girl know his name..? She didn't look famili-

Yes, she did. Long, shoulder-length brown hair, bright, vibrant – well, they weren't that vibrant now, given the condition she was in – red eyes, that sweet, angelic voice. Could it be..?

"I…Ib..?" he replied, taking the teenager's hand in his, holding it gently. Tears formed in Ib's eyes, as she clung to her "hallucination", sobbing weakly.

"G-Garry…please…save me…" she whimpered, her breath becoming heavy again. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead, and she was once again slipping into unconsciousness. Garry stroked the girl's hair and rocked her gently in his arms, waiting for the ambulance to arrive. When it did, the EMTs lifted Ib into the bed and rolled her away onto the ambulance.

"W-wait! Let me go with her!" Garry called, running towards the ambulance. His path was blocked by an EMT, who tapped his foot.

"Hold your horses, there," the EMT said, folding his arms.

"Please, let me go with her," Garry pleaded, trying to get past the EMT. After about a minute, the EMT sighed and let Garry onto the ambulance. He thanked him, and climbed inside with Ib and the others, watching helplessly as she was hooked up to all sorts of machines.

"W-will she be okay…?" Garry asked meekly. An EMT, this time a female, looked at him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"We'll do our best," she said, nodding. Garry nodded and bit his lip, resting his chin on his hands. He thought about the helpless young woman in front of him, the one that he had fallen so deeply in love with. The adult male thought about how they escaped the Fabricated World together six years ago, and how he hated to part with her. He even remembered his promise to take her out for macaroons.

Well, the promise he never kept.

After parting with Ib, Garry had been through a lot, just as Ib had. But nothing nearly as bad. He moved to this city only recently, and was surprised to find out only minutes ago that Ib lived in this city as well.

Guilt kept hitting Garry like a ton of bricks. How could he have been so…so heartless? He broke his promise.

And what made it worse what that it was a promise he made to someone he loved.

Garry was praying like there was no tomorrow for Ib's recovery. He vowed to stay by her side at all times, and if…no, _when_ Ib woke up, he would tell her he was sorry. Sorry for breaking his promise. And he would tell her how much he loved her, even if she didn't return his feelings.

_'Ib…oh, Ib, I'm sorry…I'm sorry for everything,'_ Garry thought sadly. He covered his face with his hands, refusing to let any tears fall.

The ambulance eventually arrived at the hospital, and the EMTs quickly wheeled Ib inside, taking her straight to the ER. Garry followed them, jogging to keep up.

He soon found himself standing in front of a room, where Ib was being taken care of. Doctors had instructed him to wait outside for a few minutes while they examined her. Those "few minutes" turned out to be a half hour, because the doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong.

"Sir? You can come in now," a doctor said, motioning for Garry to come inside.

"What's wrong with her? Will she be okay? Is she stable? What's wrong?" Garry questioned, anxious to hear the news. The doctor rested his hand on Garry's shoulder, and gave him a weird look.

"Woah, slow down," the doctor said. "She's stable, and she should be okay within a few days. She was poisoned, and if you brought her any later, she wouldn't have made it."

Garry was in shock. "Poi..son..?" He echoed, still not believing it himself.

"Cyanide," the doctor replied. "It's very deadly, but you brought her here just in time, so don't worry." Garry nodded, almost robotically. The doctors instructed him to call them if anything happened, and then they left the room. Slowly, Garry tentatively took a step forward, then another, then another. Soon he was standing beside Ib's bed, and the sight of her so helpless…so lifeless…it broke him. He fell to knees and began to sob uncontrollably.

"Ib…Ib, I'm sorry..!" he cried, taking her limp hand and bringing it up to his soaked face. "I'm sorry for breaking my promise…I'm sorry..!"

He continued to sob, talking to Ib occasionally, until he tired himself out and fell asleep, still kneeling by the hospital bed.


End file.
